Hose coupling



F. HUNZIKER HOSE COUPLING Feb. 23, 1943.

Original Filed Feb. 23, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTOPA/fVS.

Feb. 23, 1943. F. HUNZiKER 2,311,663

HOSE COUPLING Original Filed Feb. 23, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTO/P/VEVS.

Patented Feb. 23, 1943 {nose COUPLING ma Bunaiker, Cleveland, om, assignor a m Weatherhead Company, Cleveiand, Ohio, a, eorporation of Ohio Original application February 23, 1937, Serial No.

' 127,117, new Patent No. 2,211,622, dated August 13, 1940. Divided and this application February 16, 1940, Serial No. 319,297

-2 Claiins- This invention relates to unimproved article of manufacture and more particularly to certain improvements in flexible hose and fittings. and assembled units of hose and fittings.

The present application is a division of my copending United States patent application Serial No. 127,117, filed February 23, 1937, now Patent No. 2,211,622. In the following. specification my improved method and apparatus for manufacturing my hose and fitting assemblies is described in considerable detail in order that a full understanding may be had regarding a preferred method and apparatus for producing my im proved article. Claims drawn to my improved apparatus remain in they saidoriginal applica tion Serial No. 127,117 and claims drawn to the method of attaching the end fittings to the hose are contained in another divisional application Serial No. 304,359, filed November 14, 1939.

In attaching metal fittings to the ends of flexible hose such as is used for hydraulic brake fluid pressure conducting conduits and gasoline feed lines in automotive vehicles, it is of great importance to secure the fittings in an entirely leakproof manner-and so that the joint-between the fitting and the hose will be at least as strong as the hose itself. Prior to the present invention fittings of the general type herein illustrated and described have been secured tothe ends offiexible hose by slipping the end of the hose into a tubular sleeve portion of the coupling. and then rolling. down the tubular portion of the coupling so that it tightly grips the hose, compressing the resilient material of the hose and forcing the hose end into sealing engagement with a suitable shoulder at the inner end of the sleeve of the coupling. The metal used in the prior fittings as well as that used in the fittings of the present invention is necessarily ductile in nature, as dismetal of the fitting are retained during and after the attachment of the coupling to the hose.

The above and other objects of my invention will appear from the following description of my improved article of manufacture and a machine which is adapted emciently and economically to produce same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section through one em-.

bodiment of my forming machine showing a fitting and hose end in position, the parts being shown in the positions they assume when the coupling or fitting has been fully crimped.

Figure 2 isa view of a gasoline hose having a metal lining and equipped with couplings secured in accordance with my method.

Figure 3 is a detached cross-sectional view of one of the couplings of Figure 2 before the crimping operation has taken place.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating the fitting shown on the left hand end of the hose in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a high pressure hose and coupling before the crimping operation has taken place.

Figure 6is a view of the hose end shown in Figure 5 after the tubular sleeve portion of the coupling has been deformed to secure it to the hose.

Figure 7 is a view generally similar to Figure 2 but illustrating a modified form of crimp in which a double bend is imparted to the, tubular flange of the coupling.

Referring now to Figure 1, the shell or housing I is provided with a cylindrical bore 2. The housing I may be fixed to and supported in any suitable manner on the base 3. Theend l of the housing I is bored to accommodate the plunger 8 which carries the cam follower 6 at one end. This roll 8 may be mounted to rotate on a shaft I which is secured in position by a set screw 8. The plunger 5 extends into the bore 2 of the 7 housing I and abuts against the spider or frame 2 which carries the crimping, pressing or forming fingers l0. As is seen in Figures 2 and 3 the spider or frame 9 has a sliding fit in the cylindrical bore 2 of the housing i. A threaded collet H is disposed at the opposite end of the cylindrical bore 2 and is provided with a tapered conical crimping finger engaging surface l2. This collet i i may be screwed into the housing I a degree sufiicient to give the desired deformation, as will be later explained, and a set screw l3 extends through the housing I and locks the collet il in the desired position. The inner face ll of the collet H forms an abutment for the springs 15 (see Figs. 1 and 2) which are disposed in spaced holes II in the sliding frame or spider 2. These springs are under compression and exert a force tending to move the spider 9 toward the end wall 4 of the housing I. Apin I1 is secured in a suitable aperture [8 (see Figs. 4 and 5) in the spider 9 and extends up into a slot 19 in the housing I. This slot permits longitudinal movement of the pin i1 and the spider fspider '9 by means of a pin 2i.

suitable apertures in the spider Each-finger II is pivotally supportedjin the l and provide about whicheaehd the.

Bpflngs 22 extend into' fl andhave' m hub'portion fi'bf spiders." Th sesprhms ll 'ir' dieu outwardly about. their- .The-phinger I is vided with a central bore 2i andabar 26 hasaslidingfit-therein. Themovementofthebarfl islimitedinanaxialdirection by means of a pin 21 which extends through the 2' and is disposed in a slotted aperture 2! in the plunger I. This pin and slot arrangement between thebottom ofthe bore 25 and the end ofthebar 28 andtends tohold the harm the pt-v sition shown in Figure 1 with the pin 21 against the rlghthand end of the slotted aperture 2|. The right hand end of the bar 26 has a threaded .aperture II to accommodate the threaded portion innermost positionjeach'flngeris substan- "tially in cmtactwith its adiacent finger and substantially-the entire circumference of the sleeve of form pressure is applied throughout the engaged surfaceofthecoupling and. dueto the contour of crimping faces or the fingers II, the substantially radially inward movement thereof tends to causetheendofthehosefl tobe'forced with great its seat in the'coupling 22 tend tomovethe pressing or crimping ends of this flaring. of the edge of the up or sleeve is,

' also prevents rotation of the bar 2! relative to'the 1 plunger I. A compression spring 20 is disposed ll of the adjustable stop member 32. A spacing, I

washer I3 is disposed between the stop member 22 and the end of the bar 26 and by varying the thickness of the spacing washer II the positionof' the end 34 of the stop member 22 may be adiusted. In the apparatus illustrated the end of the stop member 32 is provided with a boss II which centers the fitting relative to the crimping fingers. If desired this boss 35 may be provided with a screw driver slot 38 to facilitate adjustment of the installation thereof, and it will be understood that the end of the stop 22 may be formed to accommodate different types of fittings. In operation of the forming mechanism the plunger I is reciprocated by means of the cam 21 mounted on a shaft 38. When the plunger is moved to the right (Fig. 1) by the cam 31 it pushes the spider 9 to the right and compresses the four circumferentially spaced springs it. As the cam 31 rotates the springs II will move the spider l and the plunger I to the left. This reciprocating motion of the plunger I and the spider 0 will cause the fingers l0, and particularly the tapered faces l0 thereof, to slide on the tapered surface i2 of the collet member Ii. In the position of the parts illustrated in Figure 1 the plunger I, the spider 8, and the fingers in are in their farthest right or crimping positions and the crimping faces I." of the fingers have engaged and deformed the tubular sleeve portion" of the coupling. As the operating cycle proceeds and the cam 31 continues to rotate, the spider 9 and the fingers ll move to theleft-from the position shown in Figure 1, due to the action of the springs ll, and'the springs 22 cause the fingers It to spread apart, the faces iii of the fingers stay in contact' with the surface i2 of the collet i I and the pressing or crimping faces it"mpen. When 7 the spider 8 reaches the end of its return or releasing stroke the fingers II will be spread apart sufficiently to permit the free withdrawal of the coupling H from within the separated crimping faces l0 and the insertion of another coupling therein.

(see of the sleeve ll bythefingers I] also causes the lip orend 44 of thesleeveutoiiareoutwardlymsisclearl'yshown injFiguneel-and). so that the diameter of the I lip ll, after-the forming operation, is larger than itwas-priorthereto. 'Asisbestseeninl'igurez relieves'thepressure of the sleeve against the hose J2 and provides a connection which will permit fiexing or bqiding of the hose without wearing or cuttingthereof. 1

In Figure 2 I have a hose provided with two diii'erqst types of couplings, neither of which is the same as that illustrated'in Figure 1. However, the difference between the various couplings illustrated lies primarily in the attachment end. They are all provided with a cylindrical sleeve portion II which fits over the end of the hose and which is crimped inwardly by the crimping fingers II to cause secure grip on the hose and also to force the inner end of the hose into fluid tight contact with the shoulder in the coupling. As is seen in Figures 3 and 4. which illustratethe couplings of Figure 2 prior to their being attached to the the sleeve ends 40 are preterably provided with coarse internal threads ll, preferablywith rounded or fiat root sections, which grip the hose surface. .The particular hose illustratedinl'igure 2 isof themetallinedtype provided with a flexible metal lining I. With this type hose a sleevemember 41 is preferably inserted in the end thereof to form a better Joint between the end oftthehose and the coupling, to prevent leakage therebetween and to support the metal lining against collapse.

InFigureabandiithety-peofcouplmg which is used for high pressure hydraulic brake hose is illustrated. Thistype'ofhoseisnot linedandin I order to prevent collapse of the opening through the hose during the crimping operation a tubular member 48 is employed which extends into the hose and is provided with a cup-shaped portion 4! which fits within the sleeve ll. As is seen in Figure 6, the same flaring of the open end of the sleeve ll occurs with this embodiment of my improved coupling as that previously described and thus cutting of the hose adjacent the coupling is p vmt a In Figure 'l a modified form of coupling attachment is illustrated in which the crimping dies are so formed as to bend the metal of the sleeve ll inwardly at a plurality of places. This embodi- The crimping movement of the fingers i0 is ment may be advantageously used in a variety of forming shapes with some of hose and fittings and to perform various other forming,

stamping or marking operations.

From the above description it will .be seen that my hose and'coupling \mits have properties not form! in articles made by previously employed processes. In my improved lion and coupling assembly the metal of the sleeve or flange of the coupling which engages the hose has substantially the same-physical properties as the parent metal from which the couplings are made. In articles of this class extruded brass rod is commonly used and the parts are formed on automatic machines. The metallurgical structure of extruded rod is particularly suited for the service in which these parts operate and by providing a coupling assembly in which all parts of the coupling retain substantially the original physical characteristics of the extruded rod the strength of the parts is greatly increased over the previously used couplings in which the metal of the coupling was subjected to violent kneading and cold working during the rolling or swaging operation performed thereon to attach it to the hose. Moreover, in previous procedures, it has been necessary to anneal the fittings before attaching to the hose and, as such annealing necessarily involved the entire fitting, the physical characteristics of the body of the fitting were detri- 2 mentally changed. Annealing also required an acid cleaning step which was expensive and in some instances, as noted before, actually harmful to threaded parts.

Although I have described my improved hose and fitting assembly in considerable detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spiritof my invention. I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the specific forms illustrated and described herein, but claim as my invention all embodiments thereof coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hose and fitting assembly comprising a the body of the fitting.

hose of resilient material and a fitting of ductile metal as distinguished from brittle cast metal secured to an end thereof, said fitting including an open ended tubular sleeve portion enclosing a portion of said hose, said sleeve portion being substantially circular in cross-section and having a portion of smaller diameter than the normal hose diameter, the open end of said sleeve portion flaring outwardly so that its inside dlameter at the end is greater than the normal outside diameter of the hose, said portion of said sleeve of smaller diameter having a plurality of circumfer'entially spaced ribs extending out from the surface of the sleeve a distance less than the wall thickness of said tubular sleeve portion, and the metal of said portion of said sleeve of smaller diameter having substantially the same physical characteristics as the metal of the body of the fitting.

2. A hose and fitting assembly comprising a hose of resilient material and a fitting of ductile metal secured to an end thereof, said fitting including an open ended tubular sleeve portion enclosing a portion of said hose, said sleeve portion having a portion of smaller crosssectional area than the normal hose cross-sectional area, said portion of said sleeve of smaller cross-sectional area having a. plurality of circumferentially spaced ribs extending out from the surface of the sleeve a distance less than the wall thickness of said tubular sleeve portion, and the metal of said portion of said sleeve of smaller cross-sectional area having substantially the same physical characteristics as the metal of FRED HUNZIKER. 

